Which Strat is the right cat?

[rice_pudding]

Hello to one and all,

I soon turn 21 and will be purchasing in the next 6 months a nice new guitar to mark the occasion (sometime in next 6 months as i am so busy). I have been playing a thouroughly good but also incredibly cheap strat (£200) for over a year now so its time to get something of top quality

i have narrowed it down to 4 models, all of which will be tried before purchased but im always interested in aquiring a range of opinions especialy as most people on this site have a larger collection and more expierience than i do. The contenders, all Fender

American standard strat
American deluxe strat
2009 Special edition with matching headstock (i have a thing for surf green)
Jeff Beck Signature model

Playability doesn't matter much to me as i fee historicaly justified in my belief that ultimately it comes down to the player him/herself, im more interested in superior tone and versatility and good intonation an tuning stability.

i play pretty much every genre under the sun so yeah...

Does anyone have any thoughts on these instruments? I would also consider ripping out the pickups/electrics on any of them BTW.

I think most people here are humbucker devotees so i look forward to some interesting responses.

Rob

[tedeeoo]

I'd probably go with the American Standard out of those 4, if it was any Fender it would probably be an Eric Johnson signature model.

[Ritchie]

Howdy Rob , i'm not going to give you my opinion on whichguitar you should buy , instead i'll give you a simple little bit of advice to bear in mind when you purchase .

Play all the guitars unplugged and listen to the tone of them acoustically , they will vary quite a lot , even the same model will vary .. so try to find one that's nice and resonant . It can be modified later with different pickups etc , but essentially it needs to sound awesome unplugged .

Don't get hung up on the fact that a certain guitar you like in the store plays like a bucket of crap .. you can use this as a bargaining tool ! and don't let them tell you that they will set it up for you .. as it should have been set-up before being hung on the rack . You'd be better off to take it to a pro and have it done correctly .

Good luck with finding a new guitar ..

[tedeeoo]

Howdy Rob , i'm not going to give you my opinion on whichguitar you should buy , instead i'll give you a simple little bit of advice to bear in mind when you purchase .

Play all the guitars unplugged and listen to the tone of them acoustically , they will vary quite a lot , even the same model will vary .. so try to find one that's nice and resonant . It can be modified later with different pickups etc , but essentially it needs to sound awesome unplugged .

Don't get hung up on the fact that a certain guitar you like in the store plays like a bucket of crap .. you can use this as a bargaining tool ! and don't let them tell you that they will set it up for you .. as it should have been set-up before being hung on the rack . You'd be better off to take it to a pro and have it done correctly .

Good luck with finding a new guitar ..

Agree 100%

[rice_pudding]

if it was any Fender it would probably be an Eric Johnson signature model.

Yeah the eric johnson signature is probably the best fender you can get outside of the custom shop Unfortunately its outside of my price range.

Rob

[rice_pudding]

Howdy Rob , i'm not going to give you my opinion on whichguitar you should buy , instead i'll give you a simple little bit of advice to bear in mind when you purchase .

Play all the guitars unplugged and listen to the tone of them acoustically , they will vary quite a lot , even the same model will vary .. so try to find one that's nice and resonant . It can be modified later with different pickups etc , but essentially it needs to sound awesome unplugged .

Don't get hung up on the fact that a certain guitar you like in the store plays like a bucket of crap .. you can use this as a bargaining tool ! and don't let them tell you that they will set it up for you .. as it should have been set-up before being hung on the rack . You'd be better off to take it to a pro and have it done correctly .

Good luck with finding a new guitar ..

Agree entirely, i always test guitars acoustically, mainly because whenever i get offered an amp to "test" with its always a line 6 spider

i think you're right about your second point as well, i've never bought a guitar or tried one (acoustics excluded) that played nice, most electrics have skinny strings and a low action, which i hate! When i bought my current guitar it was so badly set up it was painful to play - in the end i always set up guitars myself i have a funny thing about that.

What do you look for when testing acoustically? Sustain, tonal spectrum or that mysterious thing called resonance. Any specific tests you can think of?

Also any tips for testing with a shit/average amp?

Rob

[Ritchie]

Howdy Rob , i'm not going to give you my opinion on whichguitar you should buy , instead i'll give you a simple little bit of advice to bear in mind when you purchase .

Play all the guitars unplugged and listen to the tone of them acoustically , they will vary quite a lot , even the same model will vary .. so try to find one that's nice and resonant . It can be modified later with different pickups etc , but essentially it needs to sound awesome unplugged .

Don't get hung up on the fact that a certain guitar you like in the store plays like a bucket of crap .. you can use this as a bargaining tool ! and don't let them tell you that they will set it up for you .. as it should have been set-up before being hung on the rack . You'd be better off to take it to a pro and have it done correctly .

Good luck with finding a new guitar ..

Agree entirely, i always test guitars acoustically, mainly because whenever i get offered an amp to "test" with its always a line 6 spider

i think you're right about your second point as well, i've never bought a guitar or tried one (acoustics excluded) that played nice, most electrics have skinny strings and a low action, which i hate! When i bought my current guitar it was so badly set up it was painful to play - in the end i always set up guitars myself i have a funny thing about that.

What do you look for when testing acoustically? Sustain, tonal spectrum or that mysterious thing called resonance. Any specific tests you can think of?

Also any tips for testing with a shit/average amp?

Rob

Here's a scenario from when i bought my tele .. I went there soon after the store opened in the morning so it would be quiet and not full of dudes playing the same 3 chords over and over at 145 db lol .. They had a LOT of tele's on the rack , one by one i played each acoustically and set aside the ones that were loud unplugged , the difference was amazing between the various guitars . Even if the store would have been full of dudes testing Marshalls , I could have felt which guitar was the loudest unplugged by the amount of resonance felt through the neck and the body of the guitar resting on my leg .
When plugging in the guitar to test "try" to use an amp closest to what you currently own or use most .. but you would be better off just to plug in to an amp to check that it's all good electrically .. as it really is going to sound different when you use it at home and you use your own amp and FX .

Just give whatever guitar you have your heart set on the total once-over before you buy .. look for finish defects , sloppy bad neck/body joins and general set-up issues ie : nut slots , fret levels / fret ends , intonation ,etc etc .. none of these should deter you from purchasing the guitar but they can give you the upper hand in getting a better price should something be lacking in quality .

[rice_pudding]

Even if the store would have been full of dudes testing Marshalls , I could have felt which guitar was the loudest unplugged by the amount of resonance felt through the neck and the body of the guitar resting on my leg .

Ahhhh - now that is something i had not thought of!

you're right vibrations are a good way to test an axe. it reminds me of when i was playing a less paul once, there was a sweet spot on the back about an inch or two across, whenever i played it sent some sweet vibrations into my chest, a very weird expierience

Rob

[Zakk Daniels]

Hello to one and all,

I soon turn 21 and will be purchasing in the next 6 months a nice new guitar to mark the occasion (sometime in next 6 months as i am so busy). I have been playing a thouroughly good but also incredibly cheap strat (£200) for over a year now so its time to get something of top quality

i have narrowed it down to 4 models, all of which will be tried before purchased but im always interested in aquiring a range of opinions especialy as most people on this site have a larger collection and more expierience than i do. The contenders, all Fender

American standard strat
American deluxe strat
2009 Special edition with matching headstock (i have a thing for surf green)
Jeff Beck Signature model

Playability doesn't matter much to me as i fee historicaly justified in my belief that ultimately it comes down to the player him/herself, im more interested in superior tone and versatility and good intonation an tuning stability.

i play pretty much every genre under the sun so yeah...

Does anyone have any thoughts on these instruments? I would also consider ripping out the pickups/electrics on any of them BTW.

I think most people here are humbucker devotees so i look forward to some interesting responses.

Rob

I am a Humbucker devotee, but also a David Gilmour Devotee!! Get the David Gilmour Strat!!!!!!!!!!! Gilmour is a ruling Mother Fucker on a Strat!!! Fuck Yeah!!!!!! Gilmour FUCKIN' RULES!!!!!! Drink more Jack Daniel's!!!

[Cpt Matt Sparrow]

Hi Rob

Ritchie (as usual) has great advice

From my personal experience I would say investigate Fender Japan. The workmanship is exceptional.

Matt

[Ritchie]

Hi Rob

Ritchie (as usual) has great advice

From my personal experience I would say investigate Fender Japan. The workmanship is exceptional.

Matt

Thanks Matt , I second that opinion on Fender Japan , i have owned 3 jap made Fender strats in the past and yes sir the quality and workmanship are second to none ! The lower priced models are not as good as the premium ones , the lower priced ones have basswood bodies and lower grade hardware , still very good though . The premium models are totally awesome re-issues of '57 and '62 models and i have seen '65 models ( although hard to find ) with the "transition" logo .

Here are a couple websites to check out :

http://www.tommyguitars.com/page/page/3239425.htm

http://www.mijfenders.com/

[tedeeoo]

Actually, the best playing and sounding of the strats that I have played recently are the Ensenada (Mexico) strats, the set-up may be a little off but that is a minor thing. On the resonance thing, I like to sit my cheek (jawbone) on the top horn of the guitar to see how an electric resonates without an amp, it has never failed to pick a great sounding guitar.

[rice_pudding]

I am a Humbucker devotee, but also a David Gilmour Devotee!! Get the David Gilmour Strat!!!!!!!!!!! Gilmour is a ruling Mother Fucker on a Strat!!! Fuck Yeah!!!!!! Gilmour FUCKIN' RULES!!!!!! Drink more Jack Daniel's!!!

the Gilmour strat is a beautiful creation, but sadly beyond the scope of my £££ Whenever i see one i just think they look incredible!

I will however drink more Jack Daniels, i've been ill over christmas so i have an un-opened bottle just waiting

Rob

[rice_pudding]

From my personal experience I would say investigate Fender Japan. The workmanship is exceptional.

Matt

Thanks Matt , I second that opinion on Fender Japan , i have owned 3 jap made Fender strats in the past and yes sir the quality and workmanship are second to none ! The lower priced models are not as good as the premium ones , the lower priced ones have basswood bodies and lower grade hardware , still very good though . The premium models are totally awesome re-issues of '57 and '62 models and i have seen '65 models ( although hard to find ) with the "transition" logo .

Call it ignorance on my part but i was under the impression that Fender Japan didn't realy make much these days? I've only come across Japanese built Jaguars and Jazzmasters really and the occasional strat

I will have to look into them more

Rob

[Ritchie]

From what I can gather Rob is that Fender Japan's arrangement with Fender USA is that they make the "Premium" models for the Japanese domestic market , and they can export the lower grade models so as not to "cut" into Fender USA market of higher priced instruments . The same agreement was in place when the Squier brand was first made in the very early 1980's .